Jamie Samuelsen, co-host of the ďJamie and WojoĒ show at 6 p.m. weekdays on WXYT-FM (97.1), blogs for freep.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. You can reach him at jamsam22@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter @jamiesamuelsen and read more of his opinions at freep.com/jamie.

If you held a draft with all of the Detroit athletes in it, who would be in your top 10?

In case you havenít noticed lately, you could make a case that Detroit is the hotbed of professional sports.

True, weíre still searching for a title, something we havenít had here since the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in 2008. But in terms of end-of-season hardware and individual accomplishments, show me another city than can boast our haul of individual star athletes. The AL MVP seems to have taken up permanent residence here as Miguel Cabrera figures to repeat the trick and become the third straight Tiger (Justin Verlander in 2011) to take home the trophy. On Wednesday, Max Scherzer became the second Tiger in three years to win the AL Cy Young award (Verlander again in í11). Meanwhile, Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford and Ndamukong Suh continue to rewrite record books and pile up wins for the Lions. And just for good measure, Pavel Datsyuk continues to dazzle for the Wings.

So many athletes. So much talent. And no way to truly measure who is the best of the bunch. Iím sure any debate about Detroitís biggest star would rightfully center on Cabrera and Johnson. And for the record, Iíll go with Cabrera although I think that debate is a lot closer than it may look on face value.

So to broaden our little exercise, letís add a wrinkle. What if every athlete in Detroit was placed in the same pool for a draft? Your job is to pick the best player taking into account age, potential and impact. For example, Cabrera is the best player in Detroit. But he just turned 30 and his body showed signs this year of wear and tear. Are his best years ahead of him or are they perhaps behind him? And would you rather have a third baseman/designated hitter or would you rather have a quarterback or a pitcher?

Think about all of those factors and then make your picks. Hereís how I think the first 10 picks should go. (No, I didnít draft all the way down to Don Muhlbach and Joakim Andersson.)

1. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford: This one will be controversial. I get that. Many of you are still down on Stafford and still donít think heís deserving of the praise and the money that he receives. But the bottom line is that heís only 25. He plays the most important position in any sport. His career is clearly on the rise, not on the decline or in a plateau. And if you put all of the quarterbacks into an expansion draft in the NFL and took age into account, heíd easily be in the top five or six players taken. You may not like Stafford yet, but you will. And trust me, you certainly are going to like him more than any alternative.

2. Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera: When youíre talking about one of the greatest players that the sport has ever seen, age doesnít really play into it that much. He shows no signs of slowing down. Prior to his abdomen injury this season, he was putting together a better year than the one he had in 2012 when he won the Triple Crown. And thanks to that creative DH rule, thereís no reason to think that Cabrera wonít be making an impact in this city for at least the next eight years.

3. Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson: You can file this one under the Cabrera corollary. When youíre as good as Johnson is, you tend to look past pesky issues like age. Heís 28 years-old, which is often when receivers start to plateau. But Johnson only seems to be improving. He put up an NFL-record 1,964 yards last year and appears to be even better this year. Jerry Rice came out on Tuesday and said that Johnson has a ways to go to get to Riceís career achievements. Is there anyone out there who doubts that will happen?

4. Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander: Are you telling me that perhaps the best pitcher in baseball is no better than fourth in this silly draft? Yes. Thatís exactly what Iím telling you. Verlander falls to this spot for three reasons. First, there are three outstanding athletes ahead of him. Second, he will be 31 when the season starts next year. And third, his meandering regular season left some doubt that he can ever be the dominant pitcher that he was in 2011 and 2012. I still think he has it in him, and his September and October performance certainly bolstered that belief. Itís funny. He would have been the No. 1 pick here two years ago. And he may be again. But for now, heís fourth.

5. Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh: Consider Suhís age (26) and the fact that he can take up two, and sometimes three blockers, on the offensive line and still find ways to have a major impact on a game (like his tipped pass Sunday which led to DeAndre Levyís game-changing interception). In four years in the NFL, heís already been a Pro Bowler twice and should go again this year. The Lions have some nice players on defense, but thereís no doubt that itís Suh that makes everything happen. You can question his on-field discipline all you want. The bottom line is that heís a dominant defensive player.

6. Pistons center Andre Drummond: This pick might be ridiculously low or ridiculously high, Iím honestly not sure. Only time will tell. What we do know is that itís nearly impossible to find a 20-year old big man with the athletic ability of Drummond. He has the potential to be a dominant scorer, rebounder and defender. If the Pistons are going to move back into playoff contention, it all will depend on how Drummond develops. Every NBA general manager would love to have him and the 2012 draft may look like a joke when history realizes that he fell all the way to the Pistons at No. 9.

7. Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer: We have to snap up Scherzer now because he may not reside in Detroit by next spring. Some will say that Scherzerís 2012 season is the anomaly based on the run support he got and the fact that he still hasnít thrown a complete game. I think thatís a joke. He was second in the league in strikeouts. He was second in ERA. And he was first in WHIP. You can ignore the 21 wins if youíre opposed to that stat and there is still little doubt that he was the best pitcher in the AL this year. And if you go back to the All-Star break last year, he was the Tigers best pitcher (yes, better than Verlander) for the past year and a half. And heís only 29.

8. Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard: Ken Hollandís shrewdest move over the past couple of seasons was signing Howard to a six-year contract at the end of the regular season. It prevented him from going on the open market. And it was before the stretch run and the playoffs where he was clearly the Wings best player. If Holland had waited, Howard would have bolted or the Wings would have been forced to pay a million or two more for their goaltender. Some hope to see Petr Mrazek take over the reigns in goal someday. Howard may have this position secure for another 10 years giving Holland a huge trading chip down the road.

9. Lions offensive lineman Riley Reiff: This may be too low for Reiff. Seriously, if you could draft a guy who you know could play left tackle for 10 years at a high level and you knew that Staffordís blind side would be protected that entire time ó wouldnít you draft high? Thatís what Reiff is. For all the deserved attention that Johnson, Stafford and Suh have gotten this year, the biggest reason that the Lions are 6-3 is the offensive line. In fact, Iím so high on the line this year thatÖ

10. Lions offensive lineman Larry Warford: OK, Iím rolling the dice a little bit on this one. But Warford may be one of the five most valuable Lions this season. Heís not only solidified the offensive line, heís actually made it much better than itís been in years. Heís playing at a Pro Bowl level as a rookie which only makes you wonder where he could end up in three or four years once he understands the tendencies of his opponents. Warford, Reiff and LaAdrian Waddle could be 3⁄5 of an outstanding line for years to come.

Thereís the list. Some notable names were left off. Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk just donít have enough years left to compare with some of these young stars. And Brendan Smith, Tomas Tatar, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Rondon may have potential, but it hasnít been displayed to the degree that the top 10 have displayed it.